In case you didn’t know, today is the 50th anniversary of the first manned space flight, and the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War.

While we don’t recommend that you celebrate by attempting to secede from the Union or launch yourself into space, today is definitely a date worth remembering and appreciating.

How to acknowledge the day? Start by following the National Park Service’s Civil War Reporter. Beglan O’Brien, a fictional Civil War era correspondent, is posting daily dispatches on the Civil War as it happens (happened) and you can follow him through the NPS website, Twitter and Facebook. And this evening, why not throw your very own Yuri’s Night party, in honor of Yuri Gagarin‘s first flight into space? Or, combine the two and create a piece of artwork featuring Abraham Lincoln as an astronaut.

What do you think the qualifications to be a scientist are? A PhD? A labcoat? Awesome Einstein-like hair? What about age?

Most scientists are adults, it’s true. But there’s no reason that anyone, kids included, can’t use the scientific method to ask questions, make observations, design experiments and gather results. Two recent stories in the news show us just how fantastic kids are at being scientists.

Kathryn was examining photographs of the galaxy UGC 3378
taken on December 31, 2010. Comparing photographs of the galaxy taken at different times, Kathryn noticed a bright spot that was present in the newer picture that was absent from the older picture (go here to see the images). That bright spot? A supernova.

A supernova is a star that’s blowing up. When a star dies in supernova, an incredible amount of energy is released. So much light and radiation can emit from a supernova that the star becomes brighter than the rest of the galaxy it’s in. With something that bright happening in the sky, you might think finding a supernova is pretty easy. It’s not. First, supernovae are rare. In a galaxy the size of our Milky Way, a supernova happens about once every 50 years. Second, the universe is the biggest thing there is. That’s a lot of sky to take pictures of and a lot of pictures to look through. Less than 2,000 supernovae have ever been officially discovered, and Kathryn’s hard work and sharp eyes make her the youngest person to ever find one.

Primary School Students Publish a Scientific Paper on Bees

Did you know that buff-tailed bumblebees are able to solve color and pattern puzzles? No? Well, neither did anyone else…until a group of 8-10 year old students figured it out.

Students from Blackawton Primary School in Devon, England, are now the youngest scientists to have their work published in the peer-reviewed journal Biology Letters with their new paper, “Blackawton Bees.”

The paper, which looks at the ability of bees to find food using visual cues and concludes,

…bumblebees can use a combination of colour and spatial relationships in deciding which colour of flower to forage from…

is based on a question the students developed themselves, is written in their voices (included the Methods section titled: “The Puzzle…duh duh duuuhhh”), and includes diagrams the children drew (read the full paper here).

The scientists who reviewed the students’ paper say that their finding is unique, and the data they presented is compelling. And while one referee was quoted as saying they thought “the kids couldn’t do it,” the students’ results have proved them wrong.

So if you’re a kid, how can you become a scientist?

Find questions about the world that interest you

Figure out how to make solving those questions fun. Can it be a game? a puzzle?

Don’t feel frustrated about things you don’t know – be excited at the change to learn something new

Find adults to help you if you need it. Kathryn Grey and the students at Blackawton didn’t work alone – they had adults there to help them learn how to use equipment, design experiments, and just be an extra brain or two if they got stuck.

And if you want to experience another example of fantastic kid-lead scientific discovery? Stop by the museum and try out our Parasaurolophus cranial crest interactive.

For years paleontologists debated the role of Parasaurolophus’s cranial crest. They thought it had worked like a snorkel, a weapon, a way to tell males and females apart, and a tool for temperature regulation. Then, 14-year-old Della Drury came along. Della hypothesized that the space inside the crest worked as a resonating chamber, amplifying the sounds the dinosaurs made to make communication easier. Della tested the idea for her 9th grade science fair project, and her results support the hypothesis. Today, paleontologists think that the Parasaurolophus’ crests may have served multiple functions, but a resonating chamber may very well have been one of them. So stop by the museum and blow into the cranial crest – can you call out like a dinosaur?

Today is the Fifth Day of Christmas and, according to the song, your true love should be giving you five golden rings any moment now. However, if you’re expecting some small and shiny circles of metal, don’t be too disappointed if instead you get a bunch of birds. When the song was written, the rings in question weren’t jewelry to wear on your hands, but rather ring-necked birds, like the common pheasant. We don’t recommend you try wearing the birds as jewelry.

Ring-necked pheasant - you get five of them!

If your true love was going to skip the avian presents and give you five actual golden rings, there’s a good chance the gold used to make those rings might have come from outer space, delivered to Earth by an asteroid billions of years ago.

New research indicates that a series of enormous asteroid impacts 4.5 billion years ago are the source of Earth’s gold. The largest of the asteroids to hit the planet is estimated to have been the same size as Pluto.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below.

– Clement Clarke Moore

The moon looks red when it's inside Earth's shadow

Stargazers across North America will witness a rare December solstice / lunar eclipse this evening. The moon will appear to change colors as the Earth’s shadow passes across the lunar surface turning it from gray, to orange, and then, finally, red.

This spectacular display happens when the moon passes behind the earth and enters the earth’s shadow. The earth block’s the sun’s light, which normally shines on the moon and causes it to look white to us, and changing colors of the moon come courtesy of our atmosphere, which will filter the available light.

Diagram of a Lunar Eclipse

Tonight’s eclipse is starting at 11:33 p.m. Mountain Time, December 20th (your start time may vary, depending on the local time zone). Some aspects of the event will also be visible to viewers in Western Europe and Asia, but North America is best positioned for viewing. Unlike a solar eclipse, tonight’s event can be seen safely with the naked eye requiring no special equipment (blankets, thermos bottles of hot cocoa, and a lawn chair are optional; but what the heck, you’ve probably got most of that stuff just lying around the house).

What makes tonight’s eclipse even more special is that it’s happening on the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year. A total lunar eclipse coinciding with the winter solstice is fairly unique; the last time the two events coincided was 456 years ago. Luckily, we won’t have to wait that long for another eclipse to come along: the next one is slated for April 15, 2014. Granted, Tax Day isn’t nearly as festive an event as the solstice, and the visibility won’t be nearly as good here in North America, so get out there and enjoy tonight’s show!

I know some of you may have felt a little let down when this year’s Leonid Meteor Shower wasn’t too spectacular in Colorado this year. However, the skies may make it up to us tonight with the Geminid Meteor Shower.

After the moon sets (around midnight or so), there will be nothing to block the view of what may end up being over 100 meteors/hour streaking across the sky.

If you want to see the meteor shower, find a spot away from light pollution and look to the northeast. We’re supposed to have a partially clear night here in Colorado, so it should be pretty special.